


Is It Cool If I Hold Your Hand?

by riots



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Blind Date, First Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 00:33:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6216490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riots/pseuds/riots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata doesn't have the slightest idea what to wear for a blind date. Lucky for him, he's got some help. He just hopes his date is nice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Is It Cool If I Hold Your Hand?

**Author's Note:**

> written for hqrarepairexchange for jaeggings @ tumblr!! the prompt was aohina, first date. i hope you enjoy it! ♥
> 
> all my love to champ cheerleader winny for giving me motivation to finish this and k8 for the last minute beta read ♥

Shouyou tears through his closet for the fourth time today, growing increasingly desperate. “What do I wear?” he wails, plucking at the sleeve of one of his jerseys. Comfy, yes, but is it really appropriate for the situation? Probably not. He’s got no idea why he agreed to this whole blind date thing anyway. He hasn’t even met the guy and he’s already a nervous wreck. Shouyou eyes the bathroom as his stomach gurgles ominously. 

He's waffling between the closet and the toilet when there's a knock at the door. When he pries it open, he finds Yachi and Kageyama staring at him. "Hi!" Yachi begins, then her eyes catch on his feet, one bare, one sock pulled up to his knee. "Oh," she says. "Oh dear."

"You're not wearing that, are you?" Kageyama asks, his nose wrinkling. "You look like an idiot."

"I'm not wearing this," Shouyou snaps. He steps aside to let them in. "I don't _know_ what I'm wearing." His shoulders droop and Yachi gives him a companionable pat. "How do you dress for a blind date?" Kageyama opens his mouth to reply and Shouyou flaps a hand at him. "I'm obviously not talking to _you_." Kageyama huffs as he kicks off his shoes, knocking Shouyou with a shoulder as he passes him by to go throw himself down on the couch. 

Yachi squares her small shoulders, setting her mouth in a determined line. "Hmm." She rifles through her purse before she draws out a tiny, brightly coloured notebook covered in stickers. "Okay. Let's make a game plan. What are you two doing?" 

They hover in the hallway for a moment before Yachi sneaks a look towards Shouyou's bedroom and Shouyou jumps. "Oh! Oh yeah. Wait a moment." His apartment isn't exactly super guest-friendly right now. He bolts into his bedroom and slams the door behind him for a moment, hurriedly shoving his books off his bed and clearing a chair for Yachi to sit on. The clothes will just have to stay - they'll only pull them all out again when they're looking for something to wear. "Okay!" he calls.

The door creaks open and Yachi pokes her head in, one hand over her eyes. "Alright," she says, sliding into the bedroom. "Let's see what we have to work with."

"Not a lot," Kageyama drawls, wandering into the room. Shouyou throws him a dirty look and folds himself up on his bed to watch Yachi poke at the sleeve of some sad and wrinkly formal shirt that he hasn't touched since his last job interview. "Do you even have clothes outside of practice gear?"

"Like you're one to talk," Shouyou scowls at him. Kageyama looks completely unrepentant, like he's not wearing a ratty pair of sweatpants outside of his own house. 

Yachi claps her hands. "I have ideas," she announces, tucking away her notepad and gathering up an armful of clothing. Shouyou immediately wheels around and snaps to attention, eyes wide. "I hope these are clean," she says, frowning dubiously at the one pair of nice pants that Shouyou owns. 

Shouyou grabs them before she can rethink her decision. "You've saved my life," he sighs, and Yachi giggles. 

"Are you only going to wear pants?" Kageyama asks, propping himself in the doorway.

" _No_ ," Shouyou grumbles, wondering (not for the first time) how he is supposed to live with someone like Kageyama in his life. He's lucky he's such a good setter, because he's not very good at anything else. Like being a _friend_. "I - uh."

Yachi picks her way over to the only free space on the bed and lays out her three selections. "This one is nice," she says, gesturing at the formal shirt, "but maybe _too_ nice. And - do you even own an iron?"

Shouyou does not. "My mom does?" he tries, and Yachi covers her laugh with a hand, discarding the wrinkled formal shirt.

"Okay," she says. "This is my favourite." She holds up a thick sweater that Shouyou's never really bothered to wear. His mom had bought it for him for Christmas last year, and while it's soft and warm, it's a bit too nice to wear after a long, sweaty practice, so it had gotten shunted to the back of his closet. "And look!" She gives it a little shake. "No wrinkles!"

A definite plus, because he's kind of got to be meeting his date in less than an hour now. "Yachi!" Shouyou shouts and he grabs for her hands, squeezing them. "You've saved me," he says again.

"It's a miracle," Kageyama says. 

Shouyou scoops up his sweater and clutches it to his chest with the slacks Yachi had picked out. "How's Iwaizumi-senpai doing?" he asks Kageyama, grinning as red creeps up Kageyama's throat to his cheeks and he hunches his shoulders down. "I was just wondering, 'cause you seem to know so much about him -"

"Shut up," Kageyama hisses, and Shouyou just sticks his chin out and smiles. Now they're even.

The clock's ticking by, so Shouyou turns back to the task at hand: getting himself dressed. He reaches for the hem of his shirt and Yachi squawks. "Sorry!" Shouyou says, jerking his hands away and wincing. Yachi has her hands pressed to her eyes and she's creeping in the general direction of the door. "Sorry, sorry, uh, maybe you guys should go wait in the living room?" She nods, eyes still covered, and Kageyama laughs.

After Yachi has fled, Kageyama behind her, Shouyou makes quick work of dressing. He's pulling futilely at his unruly hair before he realizes that the itch at his neck means that he's got his sweater on backwards and it's turn to flush. What if he'd gotten all the way there before realizing? How embarrassing.

"Okay," he says, wandering out again, pushing the just-too-long sleeves up over his wrist and almost tripping on the doorframe. "Is this alright? How do I look?"

"Like a dweeb," Kageyama says, and then he hesitates. His mouth wobbles and he frowns at himself, looking for the right words. They've been friends long enough now that Shouyou knows to wait him out, let him figure it out. "A comfy dweeb," Kageyama adds, after a moment, face uncomfortable.

It's as close to a compliment as Kageyama gets, most days. Shouyou beams at him. "Thanks!" he says, tugging the sweater down and running his palms across the still-wrinkled fabric over his thighs. He's never been on a _real_ date before. He's always been too busy with school and with volleyball. This is kind of terrifying. His stomach gives a traitorous rumble.

Yachi claps her hands together. "You look nice!" she tells him, and she picks a piece of something off his shoulder. "Handsome," she proclaims.

Shouyou is pretty sure no one but his mom has ever called him handsome before, but he'll take it. "It's all thanks to you," he declares. Yachi lights up under the compliment, stuttering out a denial even as her lips curl up in a smile and her eyes get all soft and bright. "Now I look like a person." He presses a hand to his stomach to ease the butterflies. "Do you think he's nice?"

"Of course," Yachi says immediately. "Mai is Shimizu's friend, so she must have good taste!" She nods to herself. "Yes, he has to be very nice. And handsome too!"

Shouyou just hopes that he likes volleyball. He's not really sure how to talk about anything else at this point. "Nice is good," he says. 

He reaches up to flatten his hair again, and that's when the doorbell rings. His stomach gives a lurch. "Good luck!" Yachi says, and even Kageyama manages to fumble out a thumbs up.

This is it. Shouyou takes a shaky breath and then draws himself up tall, marching up to the door. "Okay," he says to himself. "It'll be fun. You can do this." He pulls open the door.

He's greeted with the sight of a broad chest. Shouyou's not exactly tall, but the way that he has to crane his neck to look his date in the eye is more than a little intimidating. "Aone Takonobu?" he squeaks. He's _enormous_ , tall and wide-shouldered with pale hair and a stare that Shouyou feels in his _soul_. 

"Where are his eyebrows?" Kageyama says in a stage whisper from behind Shouyou.

Shouyou's date nods briefly at him. "Are you ready?" he asks.

Shouyou glances back at his friends. Yachi is trembling behind Kageyama. "Yes?" Shouyou says. Aone stares at him. "Yes," Shouyou tries again. He smiles at Aone. Aone's expression never changes, but Shouyou gets the impression that he's trying to look friendly. That's a good sign.

Aone spares one look behind Shouyou, and Shouyou can't decide if he likes the way that Kageyama shrinks a little. "Let's go."

"Okay," Shouyou says. He gives a little wave to Yachi and Kageyama, and Yachi peaks out from behind Kageyama to wave back. "Let's go!" 

The door closes behind him, and Shouyou has to run a little to catch up with Aone and his long legs. "So," he calls. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Aone replies. 

That's not ominous. Shouyou swallows and follows him.

 

 

 

It's chilly out, and Shouyou is doubly glad that Yachi picked out the sweater for him, because it's really coming in handy right now. "So," Shouyou says. "If you won't tell me where we're going, will you at least tell me if we're getting close?"

Aone considers this. "Two stops," he tells Shouyou, pulling up abruptly in front of a shop. Shouyou has to backpedal fast to stop himself from running straight into Aone's back. "First: coffee."

"Oh!" Shouyou looks up at the little sign over the door. It looks hand-painted, and kind of charming. He brightens a little at the sight of the large, over-stuffed chairs inside the cafe. He's used to the kind of coffee shop that's chain-owned and run by bored hipsters, stuffed to the gills with university students desperately trying to finish a paper and chain-drinking espresso to power them through it. He's never been here, but it looks cozy.

A big hand reaches past him to pull open the door, and Shouyou turns to see Aone looking down at him. "Right," Shouyou says. "You have to go _inside_ to get the coffee."

They step into the shop and immediately, Shouyou loves it. It's warm inside, and it smells like fresh coffee and baking pastries. "Oh wow!" he says, rushing over to the counter, pressing his hands to the glass and staring down at the little cakes. He wants one of _everything_.

He doesn't notice Aone following him over until the barista is stepping up behind the counter, wiping his hands clean. He's tall, with brown hair and an easy smile. "Hey, Aone," the guy says. "The usual?" Shouyou glances up to see Aone give a quick nod, and then shift his gaze down to Shouyou. It feels strangely heavy. "Ah. You're together?" The barista props his chin up on his elbow. "What can I get for you?" he asks Shouyou.

This is a tougher question than Shouyou had anticipated. It's just coffee, but Shouyou wants to make a good impression. Should he get it black, so he looks manly and grown up? He swallows, feeling Aone's presence at his shoulder, and then sighs. Screw it. "Do you have hot chocolate?" he asks. "With lots of whipped cream and sprinkles?"

The barista laughs. "Oh, yeah, definitely," he says, and Shouyou hunches his shoulders a little. He looks up again when he feels Aone brush up against his arm as he steps forward, and the barista holds up his hands in apology. "Alright, alright," he says to Aone. "I'll be nice."

Shouyou must be getting better at understanding Aone, because he thinks that he looks pleased. Aone holds out a card and before Shouyou realizes it, the barista is ringing through their purchase together. "Oh," he says. He fumbles in his pocket. "I could've helped pay..." He digs out a handful of change and frowns at himself. "Hmm."

"I've got it." Aone dismisses it with a wave of his hand, and then gestures them towards a set of chairs in the corner, plush and comfy-looking. 

Shouyou throws himself into one and sighs. This is so much better than Starbucks. "So," he says, straightening. "Do you come here often?" He hadn't known how much that would sound like a cheesy line until it was already out of his mouth, and he tries not to wince too much.

Aone slides into one of the chairs with a familiar ease that pretty much answers Shouyou's question for him. "Yeah," Aone says. "It's on my way home." He doesn't add anything to that, and Shouyou fidgets, pulling at the cuffs of his sleeves. This is worse than trying to hold a conversation with Kageyama about anything other than volleyball. 

"Speaking of," the barista says, swooping in with a couple of colourful, mismatched mugs, "can you come in to practice early tomorrow? I wanna go over a few plays with you." He sets down a drink in front of each of them and then plants his hands on his hips. 

Shouyou is torn between following up on that 'practice' comment and snatching up his drink, oversized and loaded with whipped cream. For a moment, he feels guilty about not being more of an adult, but then he realizes that Aone's got _exactly the same drink_. He scoops up a fingerful of whipped cream and pops it in his mouth, grinning at Aone. Maybe they do have something in common after all.

Aone hums in reply. The barista doesn't move, smirking down at the two of them, and Aone twists slowly in his seat to face him. "I’ll be there, Futakuchi."

"Ah, good," Futakuchi sighs, all mock relief as he lays a hand over his heart. "You two kids have fun now." He throws a wink at Shouyou, and Shouyou could swear he sees the ghost of a blush on Aone's cheeks.

"Practice?" Shouyou asks. He takes a gulp of his drink and then gasp as it scalds going down, coughing and fanning his mouth. He's got whipped cream on his nose.

Aone hands him a napkin. "I play volleyball," he elaborates. 

"Really?" Shouyou abandons his attempt to de-sticky his nose and drops the napkin, leaning forward in his chair. "Me too! What position do you play? I'm a middle blocker but more of a decoy, you know? My best friend is a setter, and we do this thing - " He hesitates, but Aone gestures for him to continue with a little jerk of his chin. There's something about that that warms Shouyou's belly, more than the delicious hot chocolate in front of him. Shouyou's not blind, he knows he can come across really strong, but maybe Aone doesn't mind. He gives Aone a shy smile. "I just, I love volleyball."

"Me too," Aone tells him. His expression doesn’t change (Shouyou's beginning to wonder if it ever _does_ ), but his eyes get kinda soft. Aone raises his mug to his mouth and for the first time all day, Shouyou's gut starts to unknot itself. It might be the way he licks the whipped cream off the corner of his mouth, but Aone doesn't seem so scary now. 

Shouyou smiles. "Tell me all about your team," he says, and Aone sets down his drink, leans in, and he does.

 

 

By the time they leave the cafe, Shouyou has discovered that Aone is a middle blocker too (and a good one, no doubt, considering the size of him). Their conversation had been one-sided, but in a way that had been comfortable, and now that Shouyou's got a belly full of hot chocolate and pastries, he's decided that he likes Aone. Yachi had been right - he's definitely nice. 

It's starting to snow, and Shouyou pulls his sweater up higher on his neck. "Next time, I'll pay," he tells Aone, and when Aone swings his head to look at him, Shouyou can feel his cheeks warm. It's just because he doesn't like owing anyone, honest. It's got nothing to do with how Aone watches him patiently as he explains a new trick he and Kageyama have figured out, complete with illustrative hand gestures. 

Aone considers it. "Deal," he says, after a moment, and Shouyou practically wriggles with happiness. 

"Okay," Shouyou says. "Where's the second stop?" He shivers, wrapping his arms around his middle. "You said we were going two places."

"You'll see," Aone says again, but this time it doesn't seem nearly so ominous. "This way."

Aone leads them down a wide pedestrian walkway, and as they stop to wait at a light, he shrugs out of his coat, draping it over Shouyou's shoulders. It's way too big for Shouyou, reaching nearly down to his knees and so wide he could probably fit two of him in here. It's a lot warmer, though. "Hey, won't you be cold?" Shouyou asks. He doesn't want to be impolite.

"You're smaller," Aone says, matter-of-fact. "And I've got a scarf. You wear it."

Shouyou slides his arms into the sleeves and pulls the lapels closed. "Thanks," he says, voice quiet, suddenly feeling shy. He knows he probably looks really silly, but he's not freezing anymore, and he likes the jacket. It's big and comfy and smells like Aone, sweeter than he'd imagined. It feels like a real date thing. "You're thoughtful."

The light changes, and Aone stares at his feet for a second before he jerks into motion. "Come on," he says. Shouyou bites his lip and hurries to catch up.

Aone's pale hair and shoulders are dusted with snow by the time they make it to their final stop. "A pet store?" Shouyou says. The bell above the door jingles as he pushes inside, and Shouyou can already hear the yapping of excited puppies. "I want to see the dogs!"

"Down there," Aone says, gesturing down towards the back of the store, and Shouyou doesn't have to be told twice. 

He races down and drops to his knees next to the pen. "Hi, guys," he whispers. He knows better than to be noisy or mean, banging on the pen, but he doesn't hesitate to stick his fingers through the mesh, letting a puppy lap at his fingertips. "Hi!"

Shouyou's wanted a dog for a long time. In high school, his mom had always said no, because she was too busy looking after Natsu, and Shouyou had his volleyball taking up his time. Now that he was on his own, he knew he didn't have the space or the money. That didn't stop him from wanting one though. 

He looks up at the soft touch of fingers at his shoulder. "Do you want to play with them?" Aone asks. "I know the guy here." Behind him, the clerk twirls the keys to the pen around his fingers and waves.

"Can I?" Shouyou breathes. Aone nods and the clerk snorts, ducking his head and trying to swallow his smile.

Aone taps his knuckle against the metal of the pen. "Which one?" he asks.

Just one? It's so hard to choose. Shouyou rises to stand next to them, one hand pressed to his mouth as he thinks. They're all so _cute_. "That one," he says finally, pointing, and the clerk steps into the back to pull out a big, fluffy white puppy for him. It's so big that it's almost too big for Shouyou to hold, but it's calm and happy, licking obligingly at Shouyou's cheek when he offers it up. "It's you!" Shouyou tells Aone, grinning. "See? Big and white."

The puppy that Aone chooses is small enough to fit easily in one of his large hands, if it would just sit still for a moment. Shouyou wonders if Aone comes here often, because the puppy seems excited to see Aone, its whole body wiggling as it wags its tail and clambers up Aone's chest to snuggle into the hollow between his shoulder and chin. "Then this one is you," Aone says dryly, letting the puppy chew on his scarf.

The clerk leaves them to go take care of a kid and his mom, over by the birds, and Shouyou leans in to bury his face in the puppy's fur. "I haven't been on a lot of dates, but this is one is probably the best I've had," he says.

When he risks looking up again at Aone, he's got his head tilted forward, towards Shouyou. "Really?" he asks.

His hesitation is so charming. Shouyou blushes again. "Yep," he says. "You picked the _best_ places to take me."

Aone strokes across the puppy's little head with one broad hand, thinking before he speaks. "I don't know where people go on dates," he says after a moment, "so I just brought you to my favourite spots." 

His expression is more open and vulnerable than Shouyou has ever seen from him today, and it makes Shouyou sidle over and nudge him with an elbow. "It was perfect," he tells Aone, and he _means_ it, too. Standing here, getting dog fur all over Aone's oversized jacket, it's been a great day. "I'm glad Mai set us up."

There's the tiniest hint of a smile on Aone's mouth. "Me too," he says. His voice is warm, and it just stokes the flush on Shouyou's cheeks.

 

 

"Oh, it's late!" Shouyou exclaims as they step outside. The snow has stopped, but night is falling, and the street lights have turned on. "I didn't know we'd spent so much time in there."

Kamasaki is locking up behind them, and Aone waves him a quick goodbye before Kamasaki turns the lights off. "I love hanging out in the pet shop," Aone says.

"I'm glad you shared it with me," Shouyou says, voice hushed. He stares down at the ground, drawing patterns in the snow with his sneaker toe. He hadn't known what to expect when Mai had suggested this blind date, and his mind had run the gamut from panicking over the inevitable disaster when his date hated him to awkward silences to his date inexplicably crushing on Kageyama instead. He hadn't expected someone like Aone, and he hadn't expected to like him as much as he does. They've only had today, but Shouyou can feel the stirrings of butterflies in his belly, fluttery and nervous. 

Aone doesn't say anything, and Shouyou gets tense, afraid to look at him. Did he say something wrong? But then there's Aone's warm hand at his wrist, pushing up the too-long sleeve of his jacket so that he can lace their fingers together. When Shouyou shivers, it's got nothing at all to do with the cold and everything to do with how close Aone is standing. "Let me walk you home," Aone says.

For a moment, Shouyou wants to push his luck, go somewhere, anywhere, just so tonight doesn't end. But there's always tomorrow. And that's just as good. "Okay," he says, and he smiles up at Aone. In answer, Aone's fingers tighten around his.

They don't talk much on the walk back. It's not that Shouyou doesn't want to, it's just that - it feels comfortable. Shouyou points out the street Kageyama lives on, a cat in a window, a smiling child, and Aone listens to him talk, and it all feels easy. It's nice. 

When they get to the step of Shouyou's building once more, Aone lets his hand drop. "Oh, don't forget your coat," Shouyou says in a rush, pulling it off and brushing the snowflakes off the shoulders. Aone takes it and just holds it for a moment, staring steadily at Shouyou. "Thank you for today," Shouyou says. "I had fun."

Aone takes a moment to reply. "You owe me," he says. It takes Shouyou a moment to remember, and then he turns red, ducking his head and biting his lip. "Next time, you buy."

Next time. Shouyou feels so warm he's surprised the snow isn't melting around his sneakers. "I promise," he says.

They exchange phone numbers, and then Shouyou drags his toe across the step. "Well," he begins, and then Aone bends forward, one big hand under Shouyou's chin. Shouyou lets him tug him up onto his tiptoes and his breath stutters in his chest when Aone presses his lips to his cheek. It's brief, but it's enough to send a thrill all the way down to the soles of Shouyou's feet.

When Aone pulls away, his flush is obvious against the contrast of his pale hair. "I should go inside now," Shouyou says, voice shaky. He can't stop grinning.

Aone nods to him. "Goodnight, Hinata," he says.

He stands and watches until Shouyou has fumbled the front door open (it takes him three times to key in his code right), and then he raises his hand in a wave. Shouyou waves back before tearing himself away and climbing into the elevator.

He spends the ride up sagged against the wall, sighing dreamily. He's so busy replaying Aone's kiss that he nearly misses his floor. He doesn't even feel embarrassed about it, though.

He floats through the door, and Yachi races out of the living room to greet him. "So?" she demands, eyes wide. "You didn't text me back! How was it? Was he scary? Are you okay?"

Shouyou toes off his shoes and then puts his hands on her shoulders, stilling her nervous energy. "It was _perfect_ ," he says, beaming at her, and then he trails out of the hall to flop face first onto the couch. He doesn't want to do anything right now. He just wants to lie down and think about how great Aone is.

He feels something prod at his head. "But he doesn't have _eyebrows_ ," Kageyama says, sounding baffled. "What kind of person doesn't have eyebrows?" 

Shouyou pushes himself up to glare at Kageyama. "A great one," he says fiercely. He turns to Yachi. "He plays volleyball and drinks hot chocolate." He presses his hands to his cheeks. "He loves _puppies_ ," he tells the couch cushion.

"I told you he was nice!" Yachi says, sagging onto the ground next to him. He knows she gets really tired when she worries. "Are you going to go on another date?" She says this in almost a whisper, like it's something scandalous. 

"Definitely," Shouyou says. Yachi gasps and squeezes his hand. 

"Well." Shouyou can hear Kageyama shifting around, turning back to the game he was watching. "He better not distract you from your training. That's all I'm saying." He lets out a grunt when Shouyou pelts him with a pillow, but he looks happy for him, and that's all that Shouyou can ask for. 

He thinks about the brush of Aone's lips against his cheek and he shivers. He can't wait until he sees him again. 


End file.
